OUR FAMILY HISTORY

(Written by Kelly and Joseph Maynard)

Ours' is a very rich and colourful circus family history, which traces back to the earliest days of Australian Circus.

There is so much circus history throughout the many branches of our family tree, that it makes it rather difficult to do justice to the many achievements and milestones of our ancestors.

A full history on the Maynard/Perry family is far too long to include here and would require several books!

However here is a short summary of our family's story, entertaining Australians for over 150 years…

We are 7th Generation circus performers on our father Tony's side and 3rd generation on our Mother Cathy's side.

We shall start with Tony's circus heritage....

THE MAYNARDS

On our grandfather Fred's side are the Maynards.

Members of the family ran Lloyd sisters circus at the turn of the 20th century.

Bill and wife Daisy Maynard (with their children Bill Jnr, Emily and our grandfather Fred) performed in vaudeville shows such as those at the famous Tivoli theatre, Wild West shows like Thorpe McConville's Wild Australia, and with circuses such as Holden's, Wirths, Ashtons and Sole Bros.

Bill Jnr was a very talented dancer and left circus to branch out into the brand new area of show business, Television.

He taught choreography at the newly formed Channel 9 and trained famous choreographer David Atkins in dance.

Emily performed for years as an aerialist and bareback rider before she married and travelled on the agricultural show circuit providing carnival ride entertainment.

Our Grandfather Fred Maynard became a skilled rope spinner,acrobat and also a talented animal trainer, working over the years with lions (pictured), elephants, horses, camels and dogs. He also worked as a racehorse trainer in his younger years.

He is now retired from circus, though his influence can be seen through the types of acts performed by our family today.

THE PERRYS

On our Grandmother Lorraine's side, is the famous and extensive Perry circus dynasty.

The Perry dynasty began with ex convict George Perry and his family (including sons Charles Henry Perry and William George Perry) who toured a musical variety show in the gold mines of the 1860's.

From this travelling entertainer upbringing, eldest son Charles Henry joined Ashton's Circus as a trick rider and then later went on run a number of different circuses bearing the Perry name during the 1870's and 80's, most notably Perry's Jubilee Circus.

George's other son, William George (of whom all the existing circus born Perry family are direct descendants) also started his own circus in 1889 which eventually bore the name Eroni Bros Circus (reflecting his wife's maiden name Eroni).

After the death of Charles Henry, Perry's Jubilee Circus was amalgamated with Eroni Bros Circus in 1899.

The descendants of William George Perry have toured numerous well known circuses across Australia over the last century.